Clash of worlds
by S.B. Liky
Summary: Ichigo thought that worst of his troubles are behind him but when his own dark self rebels and demands little bit of his own satisfaction, he will be placed in greatest battle yet. To make things worse, he is not the only one who is behind this plan but one thing is certain... Ichigo and Rukia will be put to the test for very (un)selfish reasons.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I originally had this idea come to me... one morning after a dream, I know it's cliche but if I don't pull it out of my head I fear I may never post it so it has to come out. Let's see if I managed to break few cliches or hit every single one of them, hopefully I am aiming for the former. Let me know if you like how this story started. Story itself is slightly AU after Lost Agent arc so expect slight inconsistencies but nothing that breaks the story itself. Enjoy.**

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Karakura town would be perfect place for your average vacation. Place is nice, located in the peaceful area of the country and populated with kind people, a little weird but kind nonetheless. Of course all that would be alluring if it wasn't a hotspot for hollows to appear and they did so frequently. For those of you unfamiliar with these beasts, they are the very essence of anger and rage, despair and constant hunger, they are those who never crossed, who never went to Soul Society or Hell… And they constantly hunt for more souls to feed on. Does that sound terrifying? It shouldn't for there are no better protectors of this town than two shinigami watchers, always vigilant, always ready… Countless perils they encountered and survived, starting from the traitorous Captain and his army of hollows led by the elite Espada and unexpected treason of zanpakuto spirits. Things were for once ready to return to normal, less hectic routine but that was just a mere illusion, appearance to deceive this pair of watchers… for they are yet to fight in the most difficult of battle.

This night, was no exception. A loud beep on Rukia's phone in the middle of the night alerted them of hollow presence in the town and they immediately responded. They worked well together, it was beyond doubt and one after another hollows fell, counting four so far and one last remained.

"Slippery bastard!" Ichigo yelled as he charged again at the oddly shaped hollow that resembled spider with horned mask, it wasn't strong but it was very fast and every attack Ichigo sent his way missed its mark.

"Hold on, I'll flank him!" Rukia quickly responded and charged from the back the very moment he again rushed forth. The attack yet again missed and two shinigami clashed their swords. Their skin rippled slightly, sending odd shiver similar to small electrical charge right up on their muscles.

"What was that?" she asked, switching her zanpakuto into left hand as she shook right, it grew numb from this contact but that is not what was odd… what in fact was odd was what happened the very moment blades collided and in that split second she saw a vivid image before her eyes, image of Ichigo but he was completely white with eyes black as the night and yellow irises. He was grinning.

"I probably used too much strength" Ichigo shook his right hand and grasped his sword again "This is becoming annoying…" he rushed again but all he did was miss again however this time instead of looking for the hollow he turned and shouted _Getsuga Tensho!_ A second later hollow was slashed in half and disappeared. How did he know where to aim? He really didn't… it was simply an instinct.

"That seems to be last one." Rukia said as she came closer to him, trying to make sense of what she saw but he didn't seem to be one bit phased by it. Perhaps he didn't see it.

"Yeah, let's head back, I still got work tomorrow and Ikumi is going to have my ass if I am late…"

One minute later they entered through the open window of his house. Ichigo carefully moved on bed where his body was. Rukia however took few extra seconds to look at him, still haunted by that image. It was Ichigo but he just didn't look right. It could be his hollow side. Come to think of it she never actually had a proper chance to see his spirit and that image sent shivers down her spine. She entered the closet and her body that was inside. With some luck, she might catch few hours of sleep.

Thirty minutes into her 'sleep' she opened her eyes as noise came from the room. She wasn't sure what it was at first but it sounded like a groaning, painful one even. Her hands slid doors open and she peeked out. There was indeed a reason for the sound. Ichigo on bed seemed to be struggling in his sleep, painful expression showing on his face as he gasped.

"Ichigo?" She quickly went over to him. He appeared to be in fever but his skin was dry… her palm pressed against his forehead and in that instant his eyes opened… light of the moon revealed same image… those same eyes of black and gold that sent her shivers earlier.

"Gotcha!" He spoke and his hand quickly grabbed Rukia's face. Her vision darkened and she felt as if her entire world began spinning, twisting around some invisible axis… she was losing her balance and vision and her consciousness was fading. It hasn't been longer than a moment since she began feeling this and she regained her balance again, looking around. She was no longer in Ichigo's room but rather it looked like it was she was on some open field. Green hills and lush grass as far as eye can see with village houses that were placed around. It was a rather serene image and feeling quickly enveloped her.

"Where am I?" She asked quietly as she looked around but her head quickly snapped and she drew a sword as she heard a voice.

"Where you ask? We are in the inner world of course!" He was slowly walking toward her, hands behind his back. Rukia's eyes widened as she gazed at him… he was exactly like Ichigo in his shinigami uniform only he was completely white.

"Ichigo?" She asked, still holding her zanpakuto pointed at him, it may have looked like him but his voice was that of a hollow… Perhaps he is his hollow side that she often saw, one that stood behind the mask that Ichigo called for when he needed power.

"You must be asking yourself right now if I am the hollow side of Ichigo. Well you are fucking right!" he chuckled "But I am more than that."

"What do you mean?"

"You know that feeling you have here?" his right hand moved forward and pointed at his own stomach "That feeling when you want something but you shouldn't have it? Feeling when every fiber of your being is screaming to you, that feeling when you are about to touch something but you knows it is not good for you? Well I am that!" he laughed maniacally "I am everything Ichigo is not but should be! I am his source of power! I am his survival instinct that keeps screaming for him to fucking do something, and yet…" his brows furrowed as he continued, he was no longer laughing or smiling but rather his expression was angry "I am the one he ignores. You can call me whatever you like, I think I heard Ichigo sometimes call me Shiro but I prefer… Zangetsu!"

"No, I have seen Zangetsu." Rukia was now frowning, trying her hardest to not believe one word that came out of his mouth.

"Ah yes, old man. Let me tell something. We are nothing alike and yet we live here in our perfectly little harmony. I am THE hollow, don't you dare think otherwise but I am also the source of his shinigami powers! It is because of me he survived all this time. But you have more questions, do you?"

Rukia nodded, slowly lowering her sword.

"Why am I here?" she asked and he grinned again, showing his teeth as he pointed to his side, saying nothing. Several seconds later Ichigo appeared.

"What the hell? I don't have time to play hide and seek with y- Rukia?" Ichigo, the right one with ridiculous orange hair, asked as he gazed at her. His eyes widened in surprise "How did you got here?"

"I brought her here, of course!" Zangetsu chuckled and rushed toward Rukia. His speed was beyond her comprehension and he pressed hand on her face. She thought he would gonna slam her against the ground but his hand simply passed through her, like ghost through the wall, seemingly doing no damage other than making her gasp for air.

"Hey! What is the meaning of this?" Ichigo drew his sword, ready to attack but Zangetsu simply turned to face Ichigo and raised his other hand, palm open as a sign for him to stop. "Answer me!"

"You'll know soon enough, my king" he said in mocking voice as his hand lowered and returned to his back. Rukia gasped few more times and went over to Ichigo's side, raising her sword again.

"Tell me Ichigo… Do you notice something different in here? Other than having another shinigami invading our little private part of the world, is there something different?"

Ichigo looked around. Indeed there were quite a few things to notice. He didn't pay attention at first, perhaps it was something that was to be expected or something that he simply knew should be like and he didn't question it. Ichigo's eyes wandered, moving from house to house and them up, noticing clear blue sky "Skyscrapers… they are gone."

"Indeed they are gone!" Zangetsu cheered "I always hated them… do you know why? Because I couldn't see the world from them! All I saw was a forest of those abominations and a fraction of sky, no matter how far I ascended they kept rising up. Everything was vertical I mean come on that is just ridiculous for a world… But now, look at this place!" He spread his arms, as if entertainer would present his trick, showing around the fields and houses.

"I can see the end of your world, well not literally, but I can see horizon! And I see the fucking sky! All of it!"

"What's your point?" Ichigo asked in loud, growling voice.

"My point is that you grew, and in same effort, so did your world. But you see… I grew tired of this… You shinigami, you are arrogant assholes, believing yourselves to be superior to every other race even though you practically are humans without the fleshy shells. You kill hollows because you think it is in your right but that's not the issue… the issue is, you think yourselves to be superior to us… your source of power! To you, we are nothing more than tools!"

"That is not true!" Rukia interjected quickly, finally calming herself "Shinigami and zapnakuto work in harmony, one cannot fight without another. Our feelings coexist."

"Oh? When was the last time you asked your zanpakuto about her feelings? Have you ever asked her what she wants or do you just meditate to ask her for advice?"

Rukia had no words to say, in a sense he had a point. She often visited Sode no Shirayuki to train, to be stronger and in better sync with her sword but so very rarely she asked about her. Her eyes slowly returned to their original shape, less frowning but more confused and her gaze was fixed on Zangetsu.

"You don't even consider what we want!" he was angry, very angry but he bowed his head taking few long breaths before looking at them, having small smirk on face. "Tell me Ichigo… have you ever asked yourself why I am the way I am?"

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked, still trying to wrap his mind around this. It was nothing like Zangetsu, at least not this side. He always wanted to fight, to prove his dominance but now he wasn't even holding his sword, instead he insisted on talking.

"I mean why I am like this!? Was I born like this? Have I always wanted more power, did I always liked green fields over skyscrapers? Have I always wanted to see you down in the dirt with my sword over your head? Are we born like this or do we learn to have our personalities?" None of them had answer to this, instead they merely exchanged glances but more explanation came

"Every time you clash a sword with someone I get a glimpse of their zanpakuto… we talk, in our own way but… we talk. I met a very interesting one named Hozukimaru when you fought a bald shinigami and you know what I saw? Laziness! For fuck's sake I have never seen lazier zanpakuto that was wielded by shinigami who, never stops working out! But I also met another, more interesting one and I am sure you know this one. Does the name Senbonzakura ring any bells?"

Ichigo lowered his sword and so did Rukia, they were confused… Was he always this knowledgeable about other zanpakuto? Was it when Muramasa took them out?

"I met him when you were trying to save her…" Zangetsu pointed at Rukia "And you know what I saw? Loyalty, fucking shitload of loyalty to a point it was sickening but that got me wondering… Are we born this way? Are we destined to be lazy or loyal, do we even have a saying in this but then it hit me! We are not… we learn those traits from you worthless idiots. We are reflection of your souls, we are your inner desires. Whenever you feel happy, sky is bright, when you are in lowest pits of despair, it is raining. When you fight hard with all your might it is thundering in here and your world changes! Don't you get it? Neither I nor old man ever liked your world before but you grew stronger, you matured… Your world became better for us and in turn we changed and matured to match your personality. We are individuals but we are not, we are free but we are slaves. When you are happy I am happy, when you are sad I am sad and whenever you miss the fucking hint I am the one screaming from the bottom of my lungs for you to listen but you do not! And it got me fucking annoyed at your ignorance! Why? I will tell you why Ichigo! Because you always want something but often you simply deny it and push it in the back of your head! But I cannot do that! I cannot because I am reflection of your desires that you never fulfilled and I am left here to suffer, to crave for it without any possibility of satisfaction! But guess what!" he laughed maniacally "I am putting an end to it! We are putting end to it!"

Ichigo was starting to get more nervous, the talk seemed oddly familiar and he feared a particular scenario might repeat itself…

"Ichigo, we have to warn Captains… other zanpakuto may still have some residual effects of Muramasa's influence." Rukia said and was about to rush upward but Zangetsu merely waved his head "I am not gonna have my ass controlled by a pathetic zanpakuto and this is nothing on global level. This is strictly between us… and you. This thing is personal."

"Who is _us_?" Ichigo asked, narrowing his eyes. Zangetsu merely smirked but said nothing and a moment later another person emerged from behind him. Tall woman with pale skin and soft lavender hair, cladded in white kimono walked and stood by Zangetsu, almost as tall as him.

"N… no way…" Rukia quickly lowered her sword, her bright amethyst eyes widened at the sight, impossible to believe what her eyes gazed upon "Sode no Shirayuki? What are you doing here?"

"I was brought here by Zangetsu." She responded calmly, looking straight at Rukia.

"This is no longer funny, let her go!" Ichigo quickly interjected but Zangetsu just laughed.

"What makes you think I am holding her here as prisoner?"

"I wanted to come on my own free will." She said.

"But why?" Rukia asked, feeling more and more discouraged by the second as the flashes of her last encounter appeared before her eyes… it wasn't pleasant last time either.

"Because of what Zangetsu said. I simply grew tired of you asking yourself should you or should you not do it. This time, there is something I want and since I am giving you my power, you can at very least oblige me with at least one satisfaction."

"Which is?" Rukia asked.

"For you two to find out!" Zangetsu finished and smiled wide, showing his teeth "Here is where things get fucking interesting! You have ten days to figure out what we want before your reiatsu is completely drained by her presence here. Even I cannot accommodate two zanpaktou in one world and I am fucking stronger than most of Captains you met."

"Ten days? Hold on, there are zanpakuto that come as two spirit-"

"That's because they naturally come in pair." Zangetsu quickly interjected "They are set like old man and I but Sode no Shirayuki is not part of this little shitty world and her presence here is costing me greatly. You have ten days until I run out completely and once that comes, you will lose your shinigami powers, Ichigo… and if Sode no Shirayuki is here when I disappear… your precious partner will lose her shinigami powers as well."

"Are you insane?" Ichigo quickly ran over and grabbed Zangetsu by his collar "You are going so far as to kill yourself and another zanpakuto just to fulfill your wish?!"

"You don't know how it's like to be constantly denied! All you do is refuse to act when you have the power but I cannot! I remain here taking in your desires, your inner conflicts and whenever you feel relieved or you give up on something it's because I take those from you! You move on, I suffer! I don't give a fuck anymore if I die!"

"Is that how you feel too?" Rukia asked her spirit and in return she nodded politely.

"You are gonna have to figure this one for yourself, Ichigo." Zangetsu chuckled

Ichigo hissed, releasing his spirit and began pacing around. Annoyed was just one of the feelings he had but he had no way of winning this his way. He knew well that if there would be any way of keeping his powers, he would have to cooperate, play his game and fact was… every step he makes, Zangetsu will know.

"Just to show you how fucking serious we are, I am gonna limit the power you can take from me!" He laughed yet again, it was beyond doubt that he was looking more and more like madman than zanpakuto. "But it's gonna be a bother if you can't defend yourself. So I am going to allow you to use full extent of your powers in shikai form. Hell I am feeling generous today, I'll even allow you to use getsuga tensho, just enough so you don't die from some hollow trash while you are figuring out our demands. Don't count on bankai or the mask because if you do… I'm just gonna take over! We both know how that little scenario goes."

"Fine we'll play along." Ichigo said. There was nowhere to run and he felt pushed against the corner. "Where do we start?"

"Come tomorrow and you will be given few hints. Until then, think about this whole thing."

"In the meantime, I will remain in your world, Kurosaki Ichigo." Sode no Shirayuki said calmly "But you will not be able to use me and neither will you, Rukia."

"Bye bye worthless king!" Zangetsu waved and both Ichigo and Rukia were sent flying up, almost breaking the speed of sound as they were forced out of the world. His smirk faded away as he watched the skies and only when they were gone, when their spiritual pressure was completely gone did one of them broke the silence.

"You lied." She said as her lips curved into soft, gentle smile.

"About what?"

"Even if there were three of me here, ten days is too soon for him to run out of reiatsu. It would take years."

"Alright I lied, but that's just because I am not patient enough to wait for him forever to realize his own feelings." Zangetsu smiled at her.

"You care about him, do you?"

"He is my idiotic king. Recently he got better and better at controlling his urges and in turn I have started to like this world… But he is not bright when it comes to these things. Left to his own accord, he would do nothing about our situation. Fuck that, I am stepping in and I wanna change that!"

"My my, aren't you sly one" She smiled wider as she slowly moved forward, step by step and he followed. They moved passed the houses and her eyes wandered from one to another, seemingly admiring the scenery while his eyes were fixed on her.

"You are thinking about something, Sode?"

"Maybe…" she responded but didn't look at him and that annoyed him greatly.

"Don't give me that crap now!" He placed hand on her shoulder, in one quick motion he turned her to face him and pulled, hard and fast. They were close, too close and only her finger separated her lips from his. "What are you thinking exactly?"

"That is for you to find out as well. You have to be patient, or you might ruin our little plan."

"You mean your little plan."

"On which you agreed quite easily and eagerly… Are you sure you are doing this just for Ichigo?

"Well let's go with _I am selfish bastard line_ and see where it leads." He grinned, still not moving from his position. Sode no Shirayuki however took a step back and her finger that previously separated their lips has trailed down on his chin and further down on his neck to the collar before moving up, brushing against his lips once more.

"Good. In the meantime, you won't mind if I take a little look around. Would you?" She asked but expected no answer and instead she simply winked at him and disappeared, leaving him deprived right there on the spot. He chuckled, softly, silently but it turned louder and louder until it was nothing short of that of a madman whose voice echoed throughout this world.

"Do you hear that my idiotic king?!" he shouted looking up at the skies "You better hurry up because I don't know how much longer I can hold myself!"

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 **A/N: I really don't know why I made this pairing. At first I thought, what if I make it with Dark Rukia but I didn't. Please bear with me I have a good, legitimate reason why I chose Sode no Shirayuki and that reason is... it's more fun this way! I really wanna see how far I can make them go with clashing personalities and very heavy (and hot) atmosphere between them. I have high hope for this story I am writing.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: More dialogues... damn when is the good stuff coming? Oh right I am the author... Soon!**

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Words still echoed in Ichigo's head. His eyes were slowly opening, waking up from the long and heavy dream he just had. Words still echoed…

There was strong urge to believe that all this was just a dream but nothing pointed to it… no, it was real and the fact that he could hear laughter in his head was proof enough that his hollow was going rampant in his world… only consolation is that there wasn't much of a damage that he could do… at least not yet. Time was short and he immediately sat up as his body gathered strength and this motion was closely followed by Rukia who was sitting on the floor, leaning against the closet doors where she sleeps.

"I guess that wasn't a dream huh?" Ichigo asked, moving hand through his hair to set it straight as much as possible but it clearly had a mind of its own.

"It wasn't." Rukia answered with soft tone, her knees were bent and she leaned her hands on top of them, looking at Ichigo who was still waking up. "I tried to contact Sode no Shirayuki but she is not in my inner world anymore."

"Damn it!" Ichigo growled as he looked around. "Like hell I am letting this just slide." He moved to his table and took the badge from it "I am the one who rules my own world and I'm not gonna let him just run like psycho with your zanpakuto and risk both of us losing powers!" with quick motion he pressed badge against his own chest and his soul emerged from body. The first suspicion Ichigo had was that there might be a chance for Zangetsu to lock his powers and revert to sealed form but by the look of his uniform and zanpakuto, it was clear he was in full shikai form.

"Ichigo, wait!" Rukia said as Ichigo rushed out of the window and she quickly emerged from her body, following him. His anger gave him speed and he stood high above Karakura. Few seconds later, Rukia appeared as well. "What are you doing?"

"There are two spirits in my inner world, old man and hollow…" he drew his blade and pointed it forward. "I bet old man is not part of this. Bank- " His intent to release was interrupted… eyes widened as he choked, desperate for air while hand quickly reached for his own face. Pain radiated through every cell of his head and small bits of mask began to form.

"I told you not to count on your bankai now didn't I?" Zangetsu spoke through Ichigo's mouth, left eye turned black and yellow but mask never formed, it remained only on small piece along jawline and one on forehead. "You never listen!"

"Damn it! Let go of Sode no Shirayuki!" Ichigo shouted, clenching hand and pressing it hard against his forehead. Rukia was both confused and scared… she knew well how Ichigo can turn out when he loses control and what monster emerges from his own soul. Instinctively, her hand reached and grasped handle of her zanpakuto but it seems transformation has stopped.

"Why are you still thinking she is here against her own will?" hollow voice was heard again "She told you both already that she came here on her own and we have demands now!"

"Then what is your demand?!" Ichigo shouted "Tell me!"

"No no, rule is you have to figure this out on your own. I will say no more."

"Damn you Zangetsu!"

"You have nine days! We are considering yesterday as first day so you better hurry, Ichigo."

"Then where do we begin? How are we supposed to figure this out if you won't point us?" Ichigo yelled, still holding his forehead. He was quickly becoming annoyed at the fact he couldn't fight this, not with conventional way that he used so often. Now, more was as stake and all that added further on his list of major concerns.

"I told you to come tomorrow, which is today, but you woke up three minutes ago and you immediately want to know. Come later and we will reveal you a starting point. Also, there is a message for you, Rukia." Black eye moved and looked to Rukia who clenched handle, frowning at Ichigo and Zangetsu. "Sode says that she doesn't mind who you ask for help but limit yourself to those who won't prod and poke you… or me. You don't want Soul Society to find out about this."

Quick laughter escaped from Ichigo's lips but it subsided quickly as darkness retreated from eye. Mask bits crumbled and flew into the wind, leaving Ichigo to yet again maintain full control over his own body. He gasped for air, first time it happened for him to be exhausted this much… It could be previous fight with hollows, it could be Sode no Shirayuki's presence in his soul but there was a clench in his chest. This of course was noticed by short shinigami and she rushed over to him, placing one hand on his shoulder while other was on his chest.

"Are you ok?" Rukia asked, looking at him with concerned eyes and he nodded.

"I'll be fine. Just a bit tired…"

"What are we gonna do?"

"We will figure this out, that's what we are gonna do." Ichigo replied, voice was growling with mix of anger and confusion. Truth be told even he didn't know what to do, where to start, how to handle it but for one reason or another he felt as if he had to be the one who cannot be discouraged… seeing as Rukia might be close to it. He knew well that he couldn't allow it.

"I should at least inform Renji… I cannot activate my shikai and if hollow appear in numbers we might need help." Rukia said, slowly moving away as Ichigo regained his composure and waved with his hand.

"Don't. There is no way he can justify nine days of being here. If Byakuya finds out, best case scenario is him trying to physically drive Sode no Shirayuki out… worst case scenario will be if he informs the mad scientist and I get dragged into his lab… at which case things might turn for the worse…" Ichigo concluded as he rubbed his face with hand… Rukia on the other hand was surprised at how well thought through this was. Indeed, if anyone finds out things might turn out bad for them and Byakuya will most likely never allow for her to be in world of the living… scratch that… she won't even be able to see outside of mansion walls… As for ichigo… she could say goodbye to idea of seeing him anymore. Her head shook quickly at this last thought, wondering how did that emerged among the chaos of other thoughts.

"Let's head back then." Rukia said "I'll try and see if there is any leftover information since Muramasa attacked and you need to get to work."

"Oh crap!" Ichigo quickly realized and began panicking "Ikumi is gonna kill me if I am late again!"

"What do you mean _again_?!" Rukia asked loudly, making Ichigo flinch a bit and forgetting entire ordeal that just occurred "You were late before?"

"Yesterday! I overslept!" Ichigo said frantically while looking around, his eyes tried to determine his position as he didn't even bothered to see where he was going to begin with… his anger ensured that he just flies fast, not caring where.

"Then get hurry up!" Rukia shouted at him resulting in his nod and quick flight toward his house, leaving her to whisper for herself " _Idiot…_ "

* * *

"Crap crap crap crap!" Ichigo chanted, running as fast as he could toward the shop. He wasn't sure why exactly was he even bothering with work at the shop. That is a lie actually, he knew why. It was part fear part fact that it was summer break and he couldn't 'sell' his abilities to clubs. The fear part was well justified and dominant one.

He opened doors, breathing heavily and his eyes noticed a rather pleasant, smiling face that greeted him. Confused, Ichigo looked around only to spot Kaoru, standing behind his mother…

"Good morning Ichigo." She said, still smiling wide.

"Y-yeah… good morning …" he stuttered slightly as he entered "About why I was late…"

"Oh you don't need to worry about that, everyone has one of such mornings." Her voice was even more pleasant, if that was even possible. She slowly kneeled down and whispered something to her son, who all the while sent death-glares at Ichigo. Choice of staying was not his however so he left, leaving Ichigo to let out sigh of relief. Right hand rose up and rubbed his face, removing bits of sweat that formed from the maniacal running on busy streets. There was brief moment of silence but that moment vanished as soon as her hand reached and grabbed him by shirt, making him open eyes and gaze at the face of demon.

"Where the hell were you?!" She growled at him, making skin turn pale. There was no longer sweet caring, Ikumi, there was just hungry grizzly momma bear.

"S-sorry, I had a little… ummm… family matters." He watched her nervously as she drew her face closer to his. His adam's apple rose and fell as it allowed giant rock to slide down his throat. Hope lingered in Ichigo's head, hope that she couldn't smell his fear. Unfortunately, she did.

"I'll give you family matters, this is fifth time this month and you are going to start paying because customers are not getting delivery on time! Now get the suit and be ready, I have a job for you!"

* * *

"Damn bipolar woman…" Ichigo sighed and spoke quietly as he was carrying large bag filled with neatly packed boxes "And what's with this shirt?" his eyes wandered down and observed his green shirt with large letters in front _Unagiya Shop_ partially blocked by his jacket "Talk about bad marketing…"

"Alright, calm down Ichigo." He quickly shook his head, dispelling the random thoughts "Focus! You need to figure this mess out… Zangetsu said that he has particular desire, something he shares along with Sode no Shirayuki. If what he said is true… no, it is true, our zanpakuto are reflection of our souls so I should look in what they have in common… means I need to talk to Rukia about what we have in common… desires… desires… damn it what is it that I want?!" He suddenly grabbed his own head with both hands and shook rather violently, almost unnaturally, making few heads turn to observe this rather weird young man.

 _Talk to Rukia_ , that seems like a good place to start… idea was in place but realization came a little sooner than he originally intended. Beeping could be heard from his pocket and Ichigo took out his phone… _Lupus in fabula_ , as they say… she could have discovered something in the meantime. He answered the call and pressed it against his ear.

"Talk to me. Mhm… yeah I'm just delivering something… no I don't know what… Because I don't ask that's why!" Ichigo suddenly stopped and closed his eyes, bowing head "Rukia… why did you call? Did you found something? You didn't… So why did you call? They left. Yesterday. Because dad took them to see the capital!" he sighed silently and looked forward, resuming his walk while trying his best to avoid commenting on her constant questions "Yes it's just us in the house… Check in the fridge. Alright I'll wait… geez. Well I'll make something then when I get home… Alright what about curry? No curry, what abou- Really? Ramen? You want to eat ramen? No no, I can make it… Then I will buy some! Look I have to go now… yeah I won't forget. That woman is going to be end of me…"

* * *

"You have to say that was rather adorable." Zangetsu chuckled as he sat down on one of the roofs, looking down where Sode no Shirayuki was standing.

"I didn't know you would react like that." She looked up at him, amused by his comment.

"Desperation, woman!" Zangetsu chuckled tapping his palms against knees "I intend to use this against him at one point but for now I am sticking to the plan. By the way, where were you? I was looking everywhere but I couldn't sense your presence… have you left?"

"Not at all, I just went a little deeper." Sode moved along the cobblestone path of the village street, her eyes shifted from one house to another. "I learned that these houses contain memories…"

"Yeah, houses house memories… a little iro- actually it is not ironic when you think about it…" it was his time to look around now and his gaze inspected same houses that Sode was looking at "Matter of symbolic, as with everything in this world."

"But I discovered something else, other than memories…" she stopped, standing in front of a house doors. Hollow took this opportunity to quickly climb down from the roof and stood right behind her, fighting the urge to run his fingers against her hair… and he wanted to.

"And what have you discovered?" he asked as his tongue ran over his lower lip.

"That every house seems to have some sort of cellar but those inside are not memories."

"No they are not." Hand moved up and fingers brushed against her hair… slight cool sensation filled his fingertips as he moved further down along her loose hair. It was addicting, it was unique… in a world where only other inhabitant is old stick in a mud, a touch of soft hair and fragrance of flowers was too irresistible. Same fingers rose and tried to repeat this yet again but before his fingers could touch her hair he felt a sensation of her sheathed sword poking against his groin. She smiled over her shoulder at him, whispering only _not yet_. With a sudden jolt back into his twisted reality, he continued.

"Every house contains a particular memory, particular feel that Ichigo felt when memories were created but… the cellar that you discovered indeed does not contain memories. Those quasi-memories are in fact products of his imagination that are created when he remembers those… memories. What would've happened if he did something different, if something else occurred… basically, those are how he wanted memories to be rather than what they are… they are his small desires that don't project on me. More he thinks about those memories, stronger quasi-memories are and thus they become easier to be used against him."

"Now that sounds interesting…" Sode concluded as she looked forward. "Convenient as well…"

"I had to make his world simple otherwise he'd get lost."

"You made this world?" She turned fully to him, watching his face that shifted and his brows furrowed.

"I haven't made it per se… only… hmm what's the word, oh yes decorated!"

"And how did you managed to achieve that when zanpakuto cannot change their inner worlds?"

"I didn't change it… not by much… eeeh…" Zagetsu sighed, folding his arms and looking up "It's like this… I cannot exactly 'change' anything in here without his permission but since his connection to inner world, me and old man is weak, we can influence this world to a degree to make it more suitable to our own liking. It's like when you are a kid and you try to redecorate your own room. You want to move the chair and reach the painting but you are so bloody weak and small you cannot do everything! But! As you grow you realize you are stronger, taller and you can move the chair and reach for the painting and redecorate your own room as you see fit. Same applies here… When I was weak I couldn't do shit but I am now strong enough to influence his inner world aesthetically to suit my own need, but, I need his permission. That permission is required because this is essentially his world. He never meditates, never comes here other than to ask for fucking help so his connection to this world is… minimal… which grants me… and old man… a great power to change this little world for our need. I made it like this because he needs simple symbolism, otherwise this world would be great nothingness with floating memories around like a tornado… I can navigate myself easily but he couldn't sooo… Old man and I found a simple and yet optimal image so we can enjoy our little shitty corner while giving my worthless king place where he can easily navigate."

"I didn't know you were capable of such thing." She smiled, moving past him. Her shoulder only slightly brushed against his but it was enough to send a shiver down his spine… a shiver that made him bite inner side of his lip.

"It takes great strength of zanpakuto to actually do something about it." He concluded and grinned wide, looking at Sode as if she is his prey "Give me another day and I'll show you what else I am capable of…"

* * *

"My head is killing me…" moan escaped Ichigo's lips as he finally reached his house. Ikumi was perfect example that slavers are still existing in this world. He opened front doors and not more than five seconds after he entered, small blur approached him and grabbed bags from his hands, not even saying hi to him. "Honey, I'm home!" he said sarcastically as he looked at Rukia who took out two large cups and placed into microwave. "Why did you even want that?"

"I read somewhere that it was favorite food of college students. We never had such at Academy so I wanted to try it out."

"Fair enough…" Ichigo responded. He would have argued that instant cups cannot even come close to home-cooked ramen but she seemed to be way too obsessed with this and he really had no strength to initiate any kind of argue… especially when he knew that she would've jumped right on his face… with her foot. One long sigh of exasperation later and he removed his jacket and sat down. It was an interesting sight for him... Despite the fact he bought two cups, seems like Rukia was enjoying preparation more, patiently waiting for microwave to reveal its sacred content after a loud beep. But there was something else…

"You seem relaxed." He commented.

Rukia looked toward Ichigo, finally revealing her worried side as he initiated the topic "Well we can't do anything at this point until our zanpakuto decide to reveal their intentions… I entered my spirit world again but Sode no Shirayuki was nowhere to be found… her presence is still there, link is intact but she is simply not there."

"What about Urahara?" Ichigo asked "He is genius and he won't perform crazy experiments."

"I checked shop but he is gone. Tessai seems to be only one in there and he told me Urahara is away but he didn't tell me where he went or when is he returning. Basically, we are on our own."

"Well it wouldn't be first time." Ichigo smiled and after short time, Rukia returned smile. Same smile became even brighter and wider as a loud ping was heard and she took both cups out of microwave, ' _serving_ ' it on the table for them. If it wasn't for the fact that he bought them or that she only heated them, it would almost be as if she is a perfect housewife… Minus the cleaning and every other house chore that she always avoided on the count this being Ichigo's house. Still, he chuckled…

They finished their dinner and went into his room. Ichigo sat on the bed and bowed his head forward… right hand reached for his eyes and he let out a groan. Rukia quickly went over to him, kneeling in front to see if he is fine but instead of response from him, she was greeted by black eyes and wide smile. Hand reached up and pressed against her face and hollow voice came from him "I'm two for two!".

Same sensation as last time filled Rukia's head… disorientation, dizziness, heavy nauseating feel. She was again in Ichigo's world but now she didn't need to look for him, instead he was standing right beside her, looking up. Her eyes tried to catch what he was looking at and she looked in that direction. Ichigo was looking at the roof of house where Zangetsu was sitting comfortably.

"I would say that you are too gullible but then again there is no other way for you to come here unless I invite you. The feel will pass soon, happens until you become frequent flyer of Air Ichigo. Fly with style!" Zangetsu laughed hard at his own little comedic comment.

"You are alone?" Ichigo asked, making Zangetsu stop with his laugh to look at his owner.

"Sode is currently unavailable, please try again later."

"I am not in the mood for jokes!" Ichigo growled, his left fist tightened while right one was about to reach for handle of his sword. Rukia was the one who was calmer this time, knowing that her sword would mean nothing against Zangetsu.

"Getting down to business? Right I can oblige, time is ticking anyway." He slowly rose and jumped down, landing on ground rather effortlessly. His steps slowly made their way toward Ichigo and Rukia, his very appearance was intimidating even though he didn't have his sword. "Your first clue is this…"

Zangetsu snapped his fingers and entire world shifted, swirled like maelstrom and ambient changed, no longer displaying peaceful village but rather empty streets of Karakura town during the night. Ichigo opened his eyes wide as he saw this.

"How did you do that?"

"It is merely aesthetic change, nothing more." Sode no Shirayuki spoke behind shinigami, walking slowly and gracefully toward Zangetsu. This appearance seemed to hurt Rukia far more than it did Ichigo. There was still slight feel of betrayal and disappointment… something that Sode felt immediately in Rukia but she didn't comment. "Really, everyone should know this." She commented, making Zangetsu almost burst into laugh but he contained himself as she shot a cold glare his way.

"I am sure you remember this one, my king." Zangetsu snapped fingers again. Eerie howl filled the night and empty streets of his town. He recognized the howl, how could he forget? It was the first hollow that he saw, first that he remembered… creepy fish mask suddenly appeared and passed right through Ichigo, as if he was a ghost while making way to his house. This image still brings him nightmares, occasionally. Large breaking sound replaced the howl and his younger self emerged along with younger version of Rukia. He swallowed hard, remembering now the moment when ugly fish hollow almost bit Rukia in half… his fist clenched tighter as she fell down on her knees… he didn't think about it much, knowing she survived but now as he looked at it again… there is no way he felt comfortable with that scene.

"Why are you showing me this?" He asked silently.

"Because of what happens next." Zangetsu said and pointed forward. With one swift motion, Rukia's zanpakuto pierced Ichigo's chest and a moment later he emerged, fully dressed in shinigami uniform with zanpakuto bigger than himself. Hollow never stood a chance, yet again displaying the fact that Ichigo is not just another shinigami.

Rukia on the other hand was still preoccupied with her thoughts that surrounded Sode no Shirayuki. She wanted to see her reaction to this scene… both ones actually. Her zanpakuto frowned the moment hollow's teeth pierced her body and even more once she stabbed Ichigo. There were so many questions Rukia had but she didn't ask… and with right reason… at this point, Sode no Shirayuki didn't have any intention to reveal thoughts to Rukia.

"See, this scene is important for two reasons… first one being the moment of my official birth. See that big ass badass sword that you are holding? That's me!"

"That's old man." Ichigo corrected him "I only got hollow powers after visiting Urahara."

"WRONG!" Zangetsu shouted right into Ichigo's ear and made him jump back "That is me. I know it because I am looking at myself like you look at yourself in the mirror. You saw old man because you always fought with reason and mind. See… Whenever you fight with strategy, when you think step ahead, when you are composed and you think twice before acting… you are using old man's powers but when you fight with instinct, when you fight with desire to win, when you only seek victory at any cost, that is when you use me! Granted… It did give us few memories, what with me trying to take over your body, hehehe."

"I am embodiment of your instincts, Ichigo. No matter how desperate you are, when you are fighting with ME you will never have to worry about lack of strength because I am your strength… but you think first, you try to outsmart your opponent and because of it, old man is more often source of your strength… you are also weaker with him because him and I… we are two sides of same coin. You will always risk me taking over but I will always give you strength that can overcome any of those fuckers in Soul Society. Sword that you wield… shikai, bankai… that big ass sword you are holding right there! That is me! It was old man's guidance and reason that led you during battle but it was this hand…" Zangetsu rose his right hand, showing it to Ichigo before he clenched it and lightly tapped against Ichigo's chest "This hand was cutting all those hollows, this hand went toe to toe with Senbonzakura, this hand went to hell and back…this hand brought down Ulquiorra."

"That is the moment when I woke up but I was too weak. I had too much power but your body couldn't contain me fully until you underwent hollowfication. That's where I broke from shackles and emerged into your world and already I took in one desire and one feeling. The desire was 'power', simply put I wanted you to become stronger so I could become stronger…"

"And the feeling?" Rukia asked, seemingly more interested in this than Ichigo. Zangetsu looked at her and smirked.

"There was something I felt when sword pierced his chest. But, that is not for today's story. Today you get to contemplate about this little scene we showed you. Bye bye your royal pain in the ass highness!"

"Hold on!" Ichigo shouted but Zangetsu's fingers snapped, sending both Ichigo and Rukia up in the air… kicking them out of the world.

"Out of curiosity." Sode no Shirayuki said calmly, looking at Zangetsu "What was that first feeling you had?"

"Well I felt just that!" he chuckled as he turned toward Sode no Shirayuki "Curiosity. And speaking of curiosity… has ' _yet_ ' came already?"

"My my, you are impatient one." She smiled wide at him

"Well sweetcheeks… It has to do something with me being hollow; patience is not one of my greatest virtues. That belongs to stick in the mud!"

"Then you will have to wait a little bit more." She turned walking slowly and gracefully along the cobblestone road toward center of village "If you intend to still play with my hair…" she glanced over her shoulder at him "I will be at fountain."

Hand rose fast and Zangetsu practically slammed it against his own face, laughing loud enough to fill entire world. "Damn you woman! You tease me but you deny me!" His tongue moved yet again along his lower lip.

"Would you prefer any other way?"

"Not in this lifetime…"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Yea yea I know it took me a while to write this chapter... Honestly, I have no excuse.**

* * *

Ichigo could swear that if there weren't for two rebellious zanpakutos, this would be just another long, boring albeit normal day. Wake up, get a shower, wake up Rukia, take out the trash because someone forgot it, wake up Rukia again, prepare breakfast, get ready for work, wake up Rukia yet again because over the time she became lazy, eat together and then rush out of the house in hope he will not be late because he had to spend extra 15 minutes per day helping Rukia with her own start of the day. He had to be honest with himself, after all this time it was not nearly as bothersome as it used to be. Perhaps he got used to his lifestyle, perhaps he grew accustomed to her daily routine or perhaps… just perhaps there was something more to it.

His day at work remarkably resembled any other day. Delivery was very pretty much all he ever did there although he did questioned why do people bother buying from her store. He was happy they didn't hear that comment and he was happy Ikumi didn't hear that comment… afterall his own butt was the one to suffer most. Simplicity of the day would be something he would accept but then there was this thought that was being constantly pushed down, away from his mind. He still had to deal with the fact that his and Rukia's zanpakuto suddenly decided to take up drastic measures against them. All this wouldn't be as worrisome but the fact they knew not what they wanted made things considerably more difficult. His guts turned and throat turned dry at the very thought of losing his power or worse… causing Ruika to lose hers. Byakuya would be the least of his concern if it would to eventually come to pass.

With hands carrying groceries he made his way home. Regardless of dire situation, they still needed to eat and he would be damned if he lets Rukia pick another fast food idea… not that her ideas were bad but recently had tendency to fixate on single dish and eat until she gets fed up with it which is 10 meals more than it would take him to be fed up with. Half-way through he remembered something. Urahara is brilliant but tends to sometimes be a bit too eccentric and it wouldn't surprise him if he probably just closed himself within shop to work on something. Usually he wouldn't bother but now is an emergency so he decided to make his way there.

Ichigo reached doors of the Urahara Shop and started knocking with his leg.

"Anyone home?" He asked in loud noise but no one answered and he raised his voice a bit more, hitting doors harder with his foot "Hey! Open up!"

Same thing, complete and utter silence. He frowned, heavily and prepared himself to kick doors open but just as he raised his leg, doors slid open and large man appeared, bringing eerie aura with him. Ichigo knew that he was staring at him, even though his eyes were obscured by glasses.

"We are currently closed." Tessai said.

"Yea I noticed but I need to see Urahara. It is important."

"He is currently unavailable."

"Can you make him available? It is important." Ichigo repeated, placing accent on each of his words.

Tessai moved his head in circular motion as if he was stretching his sore neck. He made one full circle then another before finally snapping his head to look down at Ichigo and respond with just a simple "No."

"Come on! He can't be possibly that busy!" Ichigo shouted, slowly feeling his blood pressure rising.

"Urahara Kisuke is currently on a very important mission that could mean life or death."

Ichigo expression turned and he was no longer angry but rather worried "Wait… what? Is he in danger?"

"That depends on the outcome. He is currently acting as Lady Yoruichi's escort."

"Escort for what?!"

"I am not at liberty to reveal that information but it is located somewhere at countryside."

Ichigo's jaw dropped a bit, lips parted as he heard "You got to be kidding me! How the hell is that a life-threatening situation?"

"Lady Yoruichi insisted that he comes. She said, and I quote " _If you so much as think about using your work as an excuse to ditch me again I will take that hat and shove it up your-_ " The exact location of where hat might end up is classified information."

"I can't believe this is happening." Ichigo sighed, lowering his head "When will he back?"

"I do not know but judging by the food they brought, it might take a bit."

"Food?" Ichigo asked in disbelief.

"Yes, in fact, it was prepared very neatly in a basket."

"Well when he returns, assuming he returns in good condition, can you tell him that I was looking for him? We are in a bit of a crisis situation."

"I shall make sure he gets the message." Tessai nodded and closed doors, leaving Ichigo to silently curse his luck… that and Yoruichi's impeccable timing to go on a picnic. After another long sigh he made his way back home. Perhaps Rukia had an epiphany and figured everything out, although judging by previous experiences… it is more likely Kenpachi will become pacifist.

"I am home!" he shouted as he closed front doors, moving to kitchen to place all groceries into fridge. Distinctive lack of Rukia around him was odd, usually she is first to check out what he brought home and yet she is nowhere around. Small twist in guts led him to suspect she might have left for Soul Society "Oy! Short stuff!" he shouted again.

"I'm up here!" voice came, making him sigh in relief. He finished with unpacking and went directly upstairs and to his room. She was there, lying on his bed in light, colorful dress, focused on reading.

"Whatcha reading?" he asked as he walked over.

"Seireitei Communication." She responded as she turned a page.

"Looking for something about zanpakutos?"

"No, just catching up on the events. Been stationed here for months I don't even know what is going on in Soul Society."

"Really? At time like this you are reading a magazine?" he sighed, moving hand to rub his eyes "Don't you think you are a bit too relaxed?"

"And you are not relaxed enough." She responded, not even averting her gaze to look at him.

"Not to be bringer of bad news but we are in a bit of a crisis!" He raised his tone and eyes opened to look at her. She was not a bit disturbed by his tone.

"Ichigo." Rukia finally closed magazine but eyes still were focused forward "There is nothing we can do right not."

"Like hell!" Ichigo growled, making her turn head to look at him. For a split second, he saw something in her eyes that made him calm.

"They both said that they will reveal more information that we can use to figure out what they want. You can pace around the house all you want but neither of us will figure out what they want, at least not today. There is no point in frying our brains with worry if it will give us no result." She opened magazine and resumed her reading "You just came from work, sit down and rest a bit. We will figure this out."

Ichigo just stood there, looking at her as she calmly continued her mundane activity. He wanted to be angry, he wanted to be absolutely pissed about this situation but her words… inbetween the lines that she spoke he could almost hear _Everything will be just fine, trust me._ Safe to say, he lost this battle and he slowly sat down on the floor, pondering if it was such a good idea but as she smiled softly he decided to lie down. He didn't know why he suddenly got the urge to lie beside the bed but it somehow felt rather soothing, even more considering that he is not alone in this.

"You are not scared?" He asked.

"I am petrified…" she said in gentle tone "I don't want to stop being what I am right now; I don't want to lose all the powers I gained. I went over that event again and again, trying to remember all I can but nothing of significance happened."

"You mean other than you stabbing me in the chest and waking up my powers while shutting down yours?" He asked but no answer came. "I was thinking about that all day myself. You saved my life back then… you know?"

"I know, and in turn, you saved mine." She replied and in a very silent, whispering tone she continued "in more ways than one."

"What's that?"

"Nothing. Have you figured out anything yourself?"

"Other than the fact you can't reach other end of the town within 15 minutes? No. I swear, Ikumi is a slave driver. I have however visited Urahara shop… figured he's probably hiding deep inside."

"Any luck on your end?"

"Nah… Tessai mentioned him being in some sort of life and death situation with Yoruichi although everything points out she is just fed up with him missing the hint."

"Wonder where that came from." She commented sarcastically.

"So yeah, we are truly left on our own." He concluded and sighed, placing arms under his head to act as pillow. For good ten minutes they were in complete silence and only thing sound that could be heard was Rukia occasionally turning page of magazine.

"You know." Ichigo started, even though he couldn't see her face he knew she was paying attention "That was pretty impressive of you, being calm and all."

"Trust me, Ichigo… I panicked all morning to a point I started cleaning entire house. Yes I clean when I am nervous, shut up!" She growled much to his delight which was rather obvious considering that he chuckled.

"Still that was rather mature, to keep that level of calmness." His lips turned into a grin but then realized that Rukia is mostly childish… not that it was a bad thing but she is rarely levels above him in terms of staying on top of things. He wanted to know why. "How did you figure that all out?"

"I read it in the psychology book." Rukia responded, rather calmly.

"You got a psychology book?" He asked, slightly confused and couple of seconds later a small book fell over the edge of bed and right onto his stomach. He looked at the title and read it loud "Psychology 101 for Shinigami beginners. This book actually exists?" after few seconds he opened to inspect some of the content… it was a stuff only found in his own worst nightmares. Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw.

Lessons were short but well packed with information but that was not what made him gasp and look like an owl on third energy drink. What in fact did shook him to very core of his foundation was the fact that lessons inside had a visual example in form of pictures with little Chappy dressed in Shinigami uniform explaining in practical example… every single one of the lesson had at least one or multiple Chappies.

"Please tell me this is only publication ever made… and that you are only one who actually bought it." Ichigo spoke with thin voice; his eye was twitching and lips curved into forced smile revealing absolute torment.

"Actually it is quite popular. Captain Kurotsuchi accepted my advice and sent copies to academy for other Shinigami in training to study."

"Exactly what part of your advice did he took?" Ichigo asked, turning yet another page. His hand grabbed his mouth as he watched one picture after another.

"That books would be more interesting if they had some visual help. I heard academy is now using educational movies in multimedia rooms to shorten the time new Shinigami need to understand basics of psychology."

"Those poor bastards are gonna be scarred for life if they get to watch this all day…" Ichigo commented and his eyes slowly moved away from the book and toward the bed. Rukia's hand slowly appeared over the edge of bed and slowly fell down. She touched his chest and made way slowly up, reaching collar of his shirt. Fingertips lightly grazed his bare skin on neck and moved even more up to his chin and only lightly brushed over his lips, uttering inhuman effort on his side to keep them still and unflinching. She didn't stop… fingers continued their path over to his nose and further up to forehead and only once she was sure that what she was pressing was indeed his forehead, her fingers bent and she flicked hard against it, making him close eyes and groan silently.

"Idiot…" she muttered as he slowly rose from the ground, standing up tall and stretching himself.

"I should start making dinner."

"What are we having?" She asked, turning another page of her magazine.

"Fried fish and salad with tomatoes, cucumber and cheese. I am not making curry five times in a row."

"We didn't have curry last night? We had ramen."

"And what did we had day before yesterday? And day before that? And three more times before?" He asked as he folded arms, expecting her excuse. Instead she just rolled her eyes.

"Fish is fine." Rukia said, still keeping her unflinching focus on the _cursed_ magazine. This time he was displeased by her focus but he quickly shook his head. His eyes lowered down a bit from her amethyst eyes and he let a silent hum.

"I was thinking." He said and made a pause. Rukia finally averted her gaze and looked at him, only to find him deeply in his thoughts.

"About what?"

"Maybe you are finally hitting puberty and…"

"Ichigo, where are you going with this?" Rukia asked, narrowing her eyes as she slowly sat up on the bed.

"Well, if you are finally entering puberty, are you those gonna gro-" he pointed at her but before he could finish sentence, she planted her foot firmly against his chest, sending him to fly and hit closed doors of the closet she was sleeping in. He laughed, she wasn't.

"Just get out of here!" Rukia shouted, flustered by his comment but not before she covered her rather petite chest and as he was leaving he could have sworn her face showed signs of serious blush. He couldn't see or hear her but once doors closed she sighed and looked down, muttering for herself "You really are an idiot…"

Was he… imagining that? Why would he though? Not as if he often had thought about her blushing or that she was in fact still around his age, despite the fact she is much older… Maybe her chest will grown. Chest…

 _Huh, where did that came from?_ He asked himself, stopping halfway walking down the stairs, wondering why was he all of the sudden thinking about her in… that way? What is _that way_ though? Sure he has seen her ample of times on the beach and couple of times in bathroom when he thought no one was inside but it's not like he had reason to react differently than how he usually does. She is a bit shy though as is to be expected. All of a sudden his head was swarmed by all the moments he actually managed to take a peek at Rukia in her birthday suit… granted not on purpose but she was… pleasing to look at?

 _Well not like she is ugly… far from it. She is a bit small but not everyone can be like Ino- Stop it! Now is not the time!_

He shook his head fast and scratched his head vigorously, stopping the train of thoughts that obviously left the station. Even if he was to think about Rukia… now is not the time for that. With one long sigh he continued to the kitchen, ready to prepare the dinner oblivious to the fact that someone else is thinking.

* * *

"Uuugh I cannot believe this! How can he be this big of an… an… an…"

"Idiot?" Sode no Shirayuki added word.

"ASS!" Zangetsu shouted. He was sitting on one of the roofs of numerous houses that populated world. "At least idiots get the point! He is having everything placed in front of him and he still is completely oblivious!" Fingers rose and pressed against his temples, making circular motions "I am… zanpakuto… I am hollow… how the hell can I have a headache?"

"Perhaps the time given will not be sufficient."

"Like hell if I am gonna wait years! He'll figure this out even if I have to shove it into his head!" Zangetsu leaned back to lie on the roof, watching carefully skies of the inner world, riddled with white clouds that slowly traversed across the seemingly endless blue space.

"Aren't you overreacting a bit?" Sode asked, slowly landing on the roof and with grace she slowly lowered herself down to kneel beside Zangetsu. It was enough for him to calm himself and compose his own thoughts and emotions.

"I am not. If anything, I should be overreacting more than I am right now. He has everything set in front of him, all the pieces are there for him to put them into place but he is not. He is not!" He shouted last sentence as if trying to make Ichigo hear but knew well that shouting alone will not be sufficient. Rather than sending a message, he was simply venting his frustration. After a minute he finally settled down, once again gaining composure "And on your end?"

"Rukia?" Sode asked, her gaze falling down on Zangetsu "Rukia is not as oblivious as your master. She already knows but she is yet to muster courage to actually admit it openly."

"I am not even going to give him privilege of talking with me today... But you know what they need?" Zangetsu asked, sitting up "A push."

"Push?" She asked, lightly raising her eyebrow as she observed him carefully, watching his expression turn from neutral to satisfied, showing his teeth.

"I'll show you tomorrow. In the meantime, if I know my idiotic king, and I do… he'll be wanting to speak with someone and that means I get to have some quality time away from his Royal Assness."

"Oh dear, now who is the one teasing?" She smiled as she stood up, gracefully jumping down from the house. Zangetsu chuckled as he watched her walk slowly. He could've easily caught up now but… it sounded more fun to give her a head start.

* * *

"You are not that bad of a cook, Ichigo." Rukia commented as she was stretching her arms, leaving the mentioned orange-haired and well justified idiot to grunt while he followed her into his room. "You could probably get a good job as a chef of potato peeler."

"Keep talking and I might actually find you a job at local mushroom farm. Make sure you wear a flower on your head or they might confuse you with produce." He grinned, making her purse her lips in sign of pouting. He moved over to his bed and sat on it, crossing his legs. "There is someone we can talk to."

"You mean the other zanpakuto you have?" She asked as she sat beside him.

"Old man, yeah. Perhaps he knows something about other Zangetsu or what he wants. Worth a try but…"

"But?"

"Well I don't know how to bring you into my inner world… both times Zangetsu did it."

"Give me your hand." She ordered.

"What? Why?" He asked, moving head a bit away as she extended her hand closer to him.

"Both times he grabbed my face; maybe you need a physical link. Give me your hand." She ordered again. For a moment he hesitated but eventually he took her hand. They both closed eyes and focused but only Rukia had any success with it since Ichigo had increasingly difficult time focusing his mind on his inner world. He tried again and again but every time he would be close, his mind would shift on the fact that her hand was warm… and small… it was indeed very small, petite… soft… small…

 _Damn it, focus!_ He shouted inside his own mind and shook his head fast, trying to return his mind into peaceful state. It did not work and his left eye opened, looking around and then toward her. She was sitting straight with eyes closed, breathing slowly, calmly. Eye then fell down to look at hand and his mind yet again shifted on that single thought… her gentle, soft, warm hand. He quickly shut his eye tight and frowned heavily… one moment later, imbued with great effort, and he finally felt as his consciousness was being pulled.

He was standing on what appeared to be a hill overlooking the village where he saw Rukia and both zanpakuto. Head turned to spot if Rukia was beside but she was nowhere to be found leading him to believe that Zangetsu probably uses some technique unknown to Ichigo. Gaze turned forward again to observe the image of the large village. Scene was peaceful, serene but interrupted by the voice that came from behind him.

"I was expecting you, Ichigo." Familiar deep voice made him turn and Ichigo took a deep breath.

"You know what happened?" He asked and old man nodded, standing still on his place with same almost expressionless face and piercing eyes obscured by glasses. "Then you know why I am here?"

"You are here to ask me what are his demands, are you not?" Old man asked and now it was time for Ichigo to nod.

"I need to know what he… what they want. If not then-"

"Then what?" Old man interrupted him.

"Then we will both lose our shinigami powers. That means you will die along with both of them."

Zangetsu was calm, composed, unfazed by Ichigo's words. There were no signs of him reacting to his words, good or bad.

"Have you considered that death might be preferable option?"

"But why?" Ichigo asked, his face showed slight signs of desperation "I don't want to lose shinigami powers and I don't want either of you to die either… but I don't know what he wants."

"You are wrong, Ichigo." Zangetsu said, taking few steps forward, closer to him "Answer to your question is in front of you. You just need to figure it out."

"Why can't you just tell me? It would be easier for everyone!" Ichigo shouted but Zangetsu was yet again calm, unflinching. In that moment, Ichigo realized something "You want the same too, don't you?"

"What I want and what he wants only align in end result. It is the means that separate us. But you are still confused by my words Ichigo and you will ask me again same question despite you knowing that I know everything you wish to know."

"I know what they want, Ichigo. What they want is what I want but that was not the issue. Bigger question is what you want."

"I want… to protect people close to me, I want to protect Soul Society."

Zangetsu frowned, expression didn't change much than that but it was clear that answer Ichigo gave didn't please Zangetsu. "How many times must I tell you? What you want to protect and what I want to protect are two different things. What I… what we want to protect is-"

"Me." Ichigo interrupted and Zangetsu nodded. "But if Soul Society would ever to perish and I would to be left helpless…"

"Then it would not matter to me. The reason why any zanpakuto is so eager to lend his power in protection of Soul Society, is not because they zanpakuto are born from it, but instead because it is their master's desire to protect it. Between a choice of protecting master and Soul Society, not a single zanpakuto will eagerly choose Soul Society. If everything in outer world would to crumble and be leveled to dust but leave Shinigami alive and well… we could exist without a single trace of regret."

"But here is the twist, Ichigo…" Zangetsu continued and stood right beside him, facing opposite way and looking far into the distance, staring at a point that belonged neither to earth nor sky "If Soul Society crumbles then balance of this world would be lost. Many shinigami would fall into despair and with them… so will zanpakuto. We defend Soul Society because we have to, because existence of it would mean existence and peace within Shinigami… and thus so will we know inner peace. A cruel fate… we would choose a shinigami but we are forced to choose what means less to us. All our power… Hollow and mine… was always meant to protect you and your inner peace."

"You must not despair Ichigo… I cannot tell you what your hollow wants because if I do, it would be meaningless. Realizing what he wants will be half of your victory…"

"And if he wins?" Ichigo asked.

"He will not." Zangetsu answered with stern and confident voice "It is not in his nature to win this battle but for the sake of winning, you must also win other half of the battle."

"What is this other half?" Ichigo asked, turning head to see old man. He was still staring with his neutral expression.

"Learning his aspect. Zanpakuto are by nature the expression of the wielder they reside in. Senbonzakura is the aspect of pride and his wielder, his master's pride is absolute. Because his master understands the meaning and purpose of pride, Senbonzakura will never win against Byakuya. In order to fully master your zanpakuto, you must also learn aspects that we represent."

"And what is his aspect?"

"Talk to him, Ichigo. If you listen carefully he will tell you, like it or not… he will." Zangetsu slowly began disintegrating, starting from his feet and up, bit by bit, sliver by sliver he was disappearing into the wind.

"I will tell you this, Ichigo… what they want is something beyond any logic or reason… their demand… defies laws… and starts wars…" He finished and finally disappeared, leaving Ichigo to ponder in silence. Slowly he turned to see the village again… presence of other Zangetsu could not be felt and he closed eyes, pulling himself from inner world. His eyes opened and he remained in silence for few seconds. It took him good couple of seconds to notice that Rukia was on bed with her head on his lap, reading same magazine she was reading before.

"Didn't work." Rukia said, keeping her focus on page.

"Yea. I did talk to old man Zangetsu."

"What did he say?" She closed magazine and looked up at him, making him unwillingly inhale as he saw her eyes stare at his. There it was again… the weird feeling he felt in chest.

"Nothing we didn't know but he did said that I need to learn hollow's aspect?"

"Aspect?" Rukia asked, lifting eyebrow at new information that she just now heard.

"Apparently, every zanpakuto has a certain aspect that defines him and learning it will make us master them easier. He also said that what other Zangetsu wants is illogical."

"Hmmm… just that?"

"That it defies laws and starts wars." Ichigo smirked "Sounds rather silly, doesn't it?"

"No… it does not." Rukia said almost silently as she sat up, lowering her gaze. "So what are we going to do now? Try and find them for next clue?"

"Nah… not gonna go in there tonight. Let's go out." Ichigo said, standing up and stretching himself.

"Out?" Rukia asked.

"Yea… I doubt there's anything we'll learn today and you were right… no use in overclocking our brains so… wanna go out for a walk?"

"Yea, sure." She replied, smiling softly as she stood up. "Let me just change."

"Change?"

"You don't expect me to go in this, are you?" She looked at him with eyebrow lifted.

Ichigo looked at her up and down "Where are you gonna find doll clothes? Alright, alright! I was just joking, stop hitting me!"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: It's been a while since I updated... whole year. To be honest I kinda forgot about this story but I do plan to complete it! Let me know what you think.**

* * *

It was only five seconds. That is how long it took for Ichigo to regain his full conscience as he woke up. On sixth second, the same pressure began to build in his chest once more. He sighed deeply as he sat up, rubbing his still sleepy eyes. This night was one of the bad ones… Restless, plagued by various nightmares that jerked him from sleep, covered in cold sweat. Ichigo moved head from side to side, hearing a cracking of his neck as he stretched. He loathed this. He loathed the fact that not only his power was on the line but also Rukia's. Living as human was something he will have hard time adjusting once again but how will she take it? Cut off from Soul Society, from people she knows, from life she has now... Will she handle it? And then there is her brother who undoubtedly will blame this on him. He will most likely strangle him over and over, then bring him to Soul Society to be revitalized only to strangle him again and that is best case scenario. This is not something that Ichigo could take lightly and time was ticking.

Today he he decided to take another approach, trying to remember every single detail of that night and writing it down. Perhaps there is pattern, a common occurrence, something that would give him clue as to what Zangetsu and Sode no Shirayuki would want. Alas, there was little he truly remembered. Feeling of danger, rush adrenaline and surge of power drew Ichigo's focus away from small details. Nothing indicated why Zangetsu would rebel but that wasn't what irked him most. What did, in fact, managed to touch his nerves was the fact that Rukia was taking this with incredible ease. After she woke up, she entered bathroom, left, ate her breakfast, watched TV, went back into her closet to read, left to watch TV once more, ate lunch and then proceeded to laze around. It looked like as if this is just another slow day for her.

He stood up from chair and went over to couch where Rukia was sitting, laughing quite loud as she watched one of the reality shows. Eye began twitching as he glanced over at TV and quickly took remote, turning it off.

"I was watching that!" Rukia protested, turning head to look at Ichigo.

"How about you help me instead?"

"With what?" She asked.

His agitation grew with every second but somehow managed to calm down before replying "With figuring out what our zanpakuto want."

Rukia sighed deeply "We've been through this already a dozen times. There is nothing we can get from that one event."

"What happened before you arrived to town?" Ichigo inquired.

"Nothing special." Rukia replied "Captain sent me to investigate hollow appearance in Karakura. I followed my instinct and it led me here, after which hollow appeared, you had to play the hero and I got injured. The rest is as Zangetsu showed… You got your powers while I lost mine. That's it."

"There has to be something else…" Ichigo mumbled, squeezing the cushion of couch hard. Rukia noticed fingers that dug into the fabric and sponge and how they turned white from sheer pressure he put into it.

"Probably but we don't know about it. So relax."

"How can I relax?" He yelled, lifting the cushion and threw it against the wall "How can you relax?"

Rukia's eyes followed the cushion that hit wall and then looked up at him "Because there is nothing we can do about it yet. We only got that one scene, there is bound to be more clues." She stood up and walked over to pick up the cushion and return it to couch, placing it where it belonged "Right now we are trying to solve puzzle based on single piece we got. Look… if they wanted to just take away our powers they would do it one way or another without the need to inform us. Instead they pulled us in and explained that we need to figure it out. So, let's just be patient. Nothing good will come from us pacing around and biting our nails."

Her reasoning was sound but it gave little comfort to Ichigo. Soft sigh escaped through his lips and his hands relaxed, loosening the clench they had on the second cushion.

"How come you are so calm about this?" He asked with more composed tone "You stand to lose more than me. How do you keep your cool?"

She just eyed him quietly for few moments. That calm image quickly disappeared and she sat down on the couch. In pure contrast to Ichigo's beliefs, she showed her worried side and it was proof to him that she did care about this situation.

"I don't." She shot back with uneasy grin "I barely got any sleep last night… I think I woke up about ten times and just paced around this room only to come back and try to sleep. How am I going to explain this to captain Ukitake? How -can- I explain this to brother? Everything I have is in Soul Society… my life, my career, almost all of my friends are there and… and…"

"And?" Ichigo asked as she took a long pause. Her lips kept opening and closing, failing to deliver any words. She calmed herself and then continued.

"And I have to push it back for the moment and keep it together… find valve to let pressure out so we can focus on our issue but we can't do it if we torch ourselves with worry."

Ichigo couldn't find any appropriate words to retort. He heard everything he needed to hear and the way she behaved, the way her eyes started darting around, the way her hands rubbed one against another and the sudden desire to literally jump out of her skin was enough to convince him that Rukia was just as involved in this as he did. But he also saw something else. Perhaps he is wrong, perhaps it is this anxiety playing tricks on him but it looked like she is trying to be strong for him. Ichigo's approach has always been direct attack, strike at the very heart of enemy. If he falls, he will get up, never surrender… but this enemy is not one they can simply strike down. He is involved just as she is but they both know that Rukia will be one who will start figuring things out first… and she needs to be one on the level.

Smirk appeared on his face as he watched her inner struggle. Guilt took over for his outburst, one that was wrongfully aimed toward her. She always has been his ally and it seemed like they have been such forever… since the dawn of time itself.

"Get dressed." He said, making her fix her confused gaze on him "We're going out."

"Out?" She asked.

"Yeah. You said it yourself, we need valve to let out pressure. No reason to stick here so… let's go out. There's bound to be something interesting we can do to pass time before evening."

"Are you… asking me out?" Rukia asked crossing her arms.

"What?" Ichigo snapped, feeling the jolt in his spine "No no! It's just… friends going out to have some fun."

"Aha…" Rukia replied, narrowing her eyes at him. He could swear that she let out soft sigh. Even if it was true, she did good job covering it "Then I'll go get changed."

* * *

"You look in particularly good mood." Sode no Shirayuki commented with a slight grin as she approached hollow that casually stood on open field, face turned up and smile wide and showing teeth.

"Let's just say things are looking up! Get it?"

"Have you had any influence on him?" She inquired to which he merely waved with head.

"This is all him which is why I am feeling optimistic about this." He continued and crossed his arms, shifting gaze toward silver-haired zanpakuto "I mean come on… two people, spending time outside, going to amusement park… it's a fucking cliché! Good one too!"

"Oh? You know where they are going?" Sode continued with questions, not hiding her own amusement with idea.

"I know him." Zangetsu commented with a shrug "Best thing about strong idiot is that he is predictable at times. And that means, as long as he is like this… there is hope."

"My my…" She let out a silent giggle "From what you told me about him, one would assume that it is foolish to hope."

"It is!" He exclaimed loudly "To leave it only to hope is to abandon it completely! That is why we are giving them… slight nudge in the right direction. I wonder, wouldn't it be easier to just plunge them to the end."

"Impatient, are we?" Sode asked as she moved past him. Zangetsu followed her slow steps, always making sure he is two steps behind her. His lack of answer was enough for her to know the truth "If we do, it might create effect we do not want. No, they have to realize it on their own… well, your master at least."

"Yeah he's a wanker…" Zangetsu murmured "You know that if tenth day comes and they are not one bit wiser, they will figure out something's up."

"Which is why we will complete it within ten days." Sode commented. Her voice was sharp and determined "Plan will work as long as there are no obstructions."

"Determined, are we?" Now it was Zangetsu's time to inquire on particular trait that Sode no Shirayuki exhibited.

"Of course. I intend to see it conclude successfully."

"Is that so?" He chuckled and easily cut the distance between them. His hand reached grabbed that of Sode no Shirayuki, forcing her to turn around and look at him "It's not often you show this side to me... I like it."

"Careful." She smiled "You know what happened last time I touched you."

"I do." He answered "But I am willing to bet this time it won't freeze me."

"And what is the cause for such confidence?" Sode inquired with soft, gentle tone.

"Fool's hope. Better yet, I am placing a bet."

"On what?"

"On you…"

Slowly he pulled her by arm and the distance between them was no more. No more than few inches away from each other, he gazed down with his amber eyes down into hers and he could feel the air around them cool down, dropping by several degrees for each second that passed. Given the chance, she could truly lock freeze him into a block of ice, but he didn't care… His hand traced down and lightly took hers by wrist, lifting it up to her face, not stopping until he could feel her gentle skin upon his. There was no ice like last time, not a single bit of skin that was encased in a frigid prison. Instantly, when all of his senses suddenly became dull, he closed his eyes.

"It's warm…" He whispered, still keeping his eyes shut, daring not to look at her. New feeling suddenly was carved into his existence, one multiplied thousand-fold by the fact that this very touch could reach to point of absolute zero, but it didn't… Anticipation. If he opens his eyes, will she look the same? Will her eyes also be closed? His right hand lightly rose, moving only a hair-worth of distance at the time. Anticipation now had to make place for one feeling he loathed… Hesitation. Should he? Should he not? How far away is her face? How will her skin feel? Will it be cold, or will it be as warm as her fingers are right now?

To his great surprise, she took his hand and guided it directly onto her cheek. A soft, echoed chuckle escaped Zangetsu's lips, one that he failed to keep it in. It is just as warm…

* * *

Back in the world of the living where great suffering of indecisiveness still exists, pair moved from one attraction onto another. Ichigo couldn't believe that he can actually have fun, though perhaps the circumstances have aligned in such way that they made him desperate for even a bit of fun. Then again, it could've been a particular, short girl in casual clothes that kept dragging him from one stand to another. To his greatest of fear, and disappointment, not even amusement park was safe from the horrible, terrifying presence of a franchise called 'Chappy'. He could feel gaze from that bunny on a poster… those lifeless dots that represented eyes and followed him no matter how much he leaned back or to sides. How did it even got here? For long time now, Ichigo was firmly convinced that it was a Soul Society conspiracy, one that was directed toward him. They did worse… why wouldn't they sic a stupid-looking rabbit onto him just to see him squirm. It had to be, how else would it be here?

Rukia on the other hand was thrilled to browse through numerous items with its liking. Key chains, shirts, bags, mouse-pads. On few occasions she almost squealed from joy but had to restrain herself from doing so. This would usually be time when Ichigo makes a comment that would irk her beyond any reasonable limit but he was remarkably casual about it… though on few occasions she could swear he was looking at poster like vampire looks at cross. Still, she tested his willingness to participate by making him buy her few souvenirs and to her surprise, he obliged. It almost felt like the entire situation with rebelling zanpakuto was all just an illusion, a meager misunderstanding. This life… was not that bad.

"I'm beat." Ichigo exclaimed. It already passed two hours since they entered park and Rukia wasn't showing any signs of tiredness, especially for one who claimed to barely had any sleep.

"Come on, I see a good place." Rukia said, pulling him by hand toward a small café. One table was still available and they quickly took a seat.

"Oh sweet merciful God, that feels good." Ichigo added, only now realizing just how much his stamina was depleted. It was his beleif that having two zanpakuto in his inner world did this and it did make him a bit uncomfortable. The session of anxiety was cut short by the voice of waitress that approached.

"Good afternoon." She said with bright smile, wearing a pink 'fluffy' dress, looking more like a cupcake on two sticks "What can I get you?"

"How about something sweet?" Rukia asked, looking over at Ichigo who could only shrug in compliance.

"Then I have a perfect thing for such cute couple." Waitress exclaimed in cheerful voice.

"Huh? Oh actually we- aaack!" He yelped and clenched his teeth hard.

"Would like that, thank you." Rukia completed sentence. For brief moment she followed waitress as she left before she looked toward Ichigo with innocent eyes "What?"

"You really needed to kick me?" He asked, leaning down to rub his shin where her foot previously thoroughly exploited his tolerance to pain.

"I am interested in this special menu." Rukia quickly added, grinning wide.

"It's a -couples menu-" Ichigo retorted, still rubbing his leg over long jeans.

"And I am suddenly not good enough to be seen as part of this 'couple'?"

"What? No no, I didn't mean it that way…"

"Is that so?" She continued with inquisitorial tone, leaning forward "And what did you mean?"

Suddenly, it felt as if he is middle of pack of dogs holding a steak in his hand. It is a trap and no matter what he says it will most likely be taken wrong way. Her expression quickly turned from amused to annoyed as she waited for his answer.

"What I meant was… that… that…" He stuttered.

"Yes?" Rukia pressed on, not giving Ichigo a single excuse to change topic "Is the thought of dating me really that bad?"

"Of course not!" She spat out immediately but soon realized how loud he was and he slightly lowered his head, waiting for people around to move on with their business. This scenario managed to draw out a slight tint of pink on his cheeks, one that Rukia hasn't failed to notice. Smirk appeared on her face but before she could comment, waitress returned with a single, albeit large, cup of ice-cream, complete with pink and red frosting and a strawberry on top. Situation has gone from bad to worse as Rukia took the spoon and plunged it straight into strawberry, cutting it in half with ease. He gulped hard at the sight.

"What I meant was that… any… ummm… shinigami would be a lucky man… to… have… you?"

She looked at him as he struggled to draw out words from his mouth. There was great urge to kick him in the face. Though she probably should and no one would bat an eye. Instead she just sighed at the grand failure to draw out words she wanted to hear from him. Perhaps it is not the time for it but it didn't change the how she felt.

"Smooth…" Rukia commented, watching him squirm on his chair. Part of it could be contributed to him recovering from her kick, though she could see the awkwardness build up "You ever wonder what you would be if it never happened?"

"If what never happened?" Ichigo asked, unsure what she was referring to.

"You becoming shinigami." She answered, continuing to enjoy her share of 'lover's delight' unsure why she asked this "If I never showed up."

"I dunno. Kinda hard to imagine my life being anything but shinigami. If I'm gone, who's gonna save your ass?"

"Please as if my ass needs to be saved." She scoffed at his words, frowning. All he did was chuckle at her "You know, it is possible that I will be recalled and assigned to another town."

That image did not sit well with Ichigo. Rukia gone. He already had to face her being 'gone' once and time spent as just a regular human was a kick in the guts. The feeling of helplessness, all that power he once wielded was rendered useless. It's not as if it wasn't used for noble cause but he felt that the world moved at different pace, slow pace… and another, entirely separate world continued to move outside of his knowledge. But being cut off from Soul Society wasn't what got to him… it was the fact that he couldn't see Rukia anymore. For long time he wondered why she couldn't just use artificial body to visit. It could be that he is just another human and interaction would be prohibited by the laws of Soul Society. Whatever it was, it drew him crazy for good three weeks. And now she asked him to imagine that same scenario again… the effect was not pleasant. He was deep into his thoughts to a point he missed to see what was right in front of his eyes… literally.

"Earth to Ichigo!" Rukia raised her voice, making him snap out of his daydream. Right in front of him was a spoon filled with cream. He widened his eyes at the sight and her annoyed expression due to making her wait "You haven't even try it yet. Come on, otherwise they might figure out we are not a couple."

* * *

"He cannot be this stupid, he cannot be this stupid, he cannot be this stupid…" Hollow chanted as he was sitting on roof of one of the houses, continuously rubbing his temples.

"Is something wrong?" Sode asked, looking up at Zangetsu.

"He is fucking stupid!" He shouted from the top of his lungs, trying to make the words reach up to skies "Just when I thought everything played out well he had to be this oblivious, ignorant, stupid asshole! I didn't bother him much, gave him all the freedom and peace to figure stuff out but he acts like an idiot! IDIOT! And now I have a headache…"

"Mind is not a thing that can easily be changed. Have patience." She spoke, trying to calm him down. Zangetsu show a glare at her but after a few seconds the anger simply melted away.

"Nothing fazes you, does it?" He asked but instead of answer she offered him a brief smile before walking away. For the past couple of days, she spent quite a lot of time exploring his little world, exploring the memories and desires that Ichigo harbored. There wasn't anything that Zangetsu didn't know about this world but he still couldn't figure out what she is looking for. He could probably help her but right now he had another thing on his agenda and he smiled wide at what is about to happen.

* * *

"Now I'm beat." Rukia exclaimed as she sat down on the couch after they arrived home.

"Yea that's your punishment for dragging me around." Ichigo commented as he closed doors behind him.

"Oh please, you enjoyed it too." She looked at him, expecting a rebuke but none came. Silence was his answer and she was content with it "That reminds me what's for dinner?"

"Home specialty!" Echoing voice filled the room and she once again saw ember eyes right before hers. There wasn't even time for her to react, palm already was placed across her face "Don't forget to thank the chef!"

The trip down into Ichigo's inner world was just as shocking as it was before and it made all of her senses scream as she was plunged into the world populated by numerous small houses. Unlike her world where she would simply open her eyes and be already at the center of it, here she actually saw the entire transition into world… the descent from the sky, crashing down into the ground. It wasn't like this last time…

Ichigo was standing right beside her, staring at Zangetsu who was already there to greet them with wide smile.

"Welcome back, your Royal Assness." Zangetsu said, breaking the silence "What brings you here? Came to share a cup of tea and few gossips?"

"Knock it off!" Ichigo barked "You know why we are here."

"Straight to the point. I like that about you Ichigo." Zangetsu commented "You always aim for the heart. Not a bad quality actually and I do like to think that you actually took it from me. Then again, they say that we, your zanpakuto, are reflection of your traits so it is possible you rubbed it off on me. You know I am actually a bit hesitant to show you this…"

"Why is that?" Ichigo asked, crossing arms.

"You spoke with old man, didn't you? You see, he shares my views but he is more inclined toward you than he is toward himself and what he wants. I think he'd break the stick in his ass if he refused to help you. He is not wrong about them, a lot of what he says is useful for you."

"Is that why you are hesitant now?" Ichigo pressed on with questions "You are afraid that I might learn about your secrets?"

"You misunderstand." Zangetsu replied, rising right hand with finger pointed up "Learning my secrets would benefit us both."

"So then why the game? Why all this secrecy?"

"Because, my idiotic king, if I tell you right now what we want you will refuse it." Zangetsu explained "Telling you what I… no, what we want will make both of you refuse without a second of consideration and no matter how much I would try to reason with you, you will not give that to me."

"Is it my body? Is that what you want?"

"No. Well, yes I do want it and it is on my agenda but not right now. Right now I want you to realize what I want. If you realize it on your own, there is great chance that you will agree, so you see… it is not just about goal, it is about reaching to it, it is about understanding what it took to get there. And that is why I am showing you this…"

Zangetsu lowered his hand and snapped his fingers. The world once more shifted and entire scenery changed, now showing the cave with countless swords lodged into the ground. On one side there was old man and on the other was Ichigo, holding broken sword, panting heavily from exhaustion. Though Ichigo was all too familiar with the place, Rukia on the other hand didn't recognize it.

"Where is this?" She asked, looking around.

"This is where I learned my bankai." Ichigo answered, looking at younger version of himself that reached for another sword and rushed toward old man Zangetsu.

"Correct!" Hollow exclaimed in cheerful tone "And if you want my opinion, that was the only way you could've achieved your bankai. Not meditation and most certainly not meticulous training! I am not that kind of zanpakuto, you see… I am also a hollow. Patience is not in my nature and you didn't need power. You had it all along, trapped inside numerous constraints that limited your abilities. What you needed was experience, you needed to feel that power in your hands, to learn how to control it, to control me!"

"What you both fail to realize is that we, zanpakuto, are born with power, almost unlimited power but we are bound by your abilities. Our potential only grows as much as yours do. Your good buddy-buddy Aizen realized this and went through all that crap to break the limits of shinigami and reach into hollow world to extend that potential. Now look there!" He pointed toward younger Ichigo that traded blows with old man only to have himself kicked back into a boulder. That image made hollow burst into laugh and even Rukia couldn't help but be amused at the image of Ichigo having his ass handed to him.

"You were tasked to find correct sword that contained your power. So you looked for one that resembled yours first and when that failed you went for another and another and another, failing to realize that every sword had but a fraction of your power that only needed you to spark it."

"Yeah, I remember." Ichigo commented, briefly looking over at Rukia who tried her best to calm herself but the grin on her lips was impossible to hide "Took me three days to find right one."

"Hello!" Zangetsu waved hand slowly in front of Ichigo's face "Didn't you hear me? Every sword was right one, you just didn't know how to use them. That's why you broke them. Didn't that blonde asshole with funny hat already explained why his sword cut through yours? You had power, you didn't know how to wield it and that's why you had to break so many of them. It was necessary!"

"Alright, so… what does this have to do with what you want?" Ichigo asked "First you showed us moment I got my powers, now you are showing me how I got my bankai. Is it the power that you want?"

"No. Right now what I want you to do is to look at this scene and realize what it means."

"It means I got my bankai!" Ichigo shouted, taking few steps back, standing eye-to-eye with Zangetsu. The sheer contrast of them was remarkable, where Ichigo was frowning, baring his teeth with anger, Zangetsu was smiling, calmly enjoying the outburst his 'king' is displaying.

"Yes, but why? What does bankai means so much to you?"

"Because I had to do it! Because I needed power!" Ichigo shouted.

"Why?" Zangetsu asked calmly.

"To face Captains!" Ichigo replied quickly, not lowering his voice even one bit.

"But why?" Zangetsu asked once more, still calm, expecting to hear particular answer from his master.

"Because if I didn't have it, I wouldn't be able to beat Aizen or Byakuya!"

"And?!" Zangetsu pressed on with question, this time shouting the word.

"And what more?!" Ichigo shouted in return. Obliviousness on his face clearly angered Zangetsu and now both stared at eachother with a glare of rabid dogs, aching to tear eachother apart. Hollow breathed fast through his nose, audible enough for even Rukia to hear.

"Fucking slowpoke, that's what you are." Zangetsu finally added, being first to calm down. He snapped his fingers and both shinigami disappeared from the world "Think carefully about what you saw and why you got your power…"

"Well, that was an interesting thing to see." Female voice reached from behind him and Zangetsu turned. Whatever anger was still in his core has disappeared… He was annoyed, yes, but his rage has subsided "You handled it well… for a moment I thought you would go for his throat."

"If I do that then everything will be for naught." Zangetsu commented "What of your master?"

"Nothing changed." Sode no Shirayuki added, slowly walking over to him "The feelings are there but her courage is a bit lacking. She seems to be afraid."

"Of what?"

"Rejection." She added calmly "Though I would lie to say I do not share her feelings."

"Have I not proven enough to disperse those doubts?" Zangetsu turned to face her, lifting eyebrow as he gazed at her graceful posture and noble regalia.

"And if your master's feelings waver?" She inquisited "You always claim that you are reflection of his desires and instincts… If by chance he rejects his feelings, how will it reflect on you?"

"Is that what bothers you?" Zangetsu asked, reaching over to her but as his fingers drew close to her cheek, he felt the sudden drop of temperature. Warmth that she radiated a while ago was replaced by the icy shield she protected herself with and instead of touching her skin, he took but a few strands of her silver hair. Both stood in silence as he gazed at the silky hair that lightly caressed fingers that so far only craved for more power.

"It does." She said in quiet tone, keeping her gaze away from his.

"You have seen -that- house, yes? You have seen what is in it?" He asked in equally low tone. Instead of words she merely nodded "Then let me cast a bit of light onto you, Sode no Shirayuki…" He continued, placing particular accent on her name "Should such a moment comes where I will waver, I shall take over my idiot king's body and come just so you can plunge your sword into me. You… and no one else."


End file.
